Morgan's Odyssey: Earth
by Jack Cross
Summary: A young bow hunter's journey continues as Aang begins to seek out an earthbending teacher. But new foes, both expected and otherwise are closing in, and Morgan will have to face challenges greater than anything he could have ever imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, Jack here with the next installment in Morgan's Odyssey. This time we'll be covering the events of Book 2: Earth. And this time, there will be a lot more of the plotline being changed. So, without further delay, let's get on with it. **

**I do not own Avatar, The Last Airbender. **

The sound of waves breaking on the shoreline brought me out of my slumber, that and the freezing surf crashing down on top of me. It wasn't the most pleasant way to wake up. In fact, it's one of the worst ways I have ever come to in my entire life. I slowly pushed myself up onto my hands and knees. Another wave slammed into me from behind, forcing me back into the sand.

Let me give you a little bit of a recap so you have a basic idea of the story so far. My name is Jacob Morgan Wood. Sometimes I go by Jake, but usually everyone just calls me Morgan. Up until six months ago (I think, time's hard to keep track of on the road), I was a teenager living in St. Mary, Montana. Then I went on a bow hunting trip into Glacier National Park, in which case I died. No, seriously, I fell into a mountain stream, went over a water fall, and fell to my death. Impaled on rocks, broken bones, the whole nine yards.

Now that might get you thinking, if I died, how is it that I'm here telling you this story? From what I've been able to make out, the world I woke up in is more or less my afterlife. Not Heaven, not Hell, just a new world altogether, a second chance at a life I never really got a chance to live. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that world was Avatar: The Last Airbender. That revelation itself nearly cost me my sanity.

I fell in with Aang and his friends, becoming the group's hunter/gatherer and cook. As we went North, I found out I was a waterbender, could see Spirits, and apparently shared a name with some ancient Water Tribe savior hero. I also found myself falling in love with Katara, which was something I took a while to reconcile.

After we got to the North Pole, I wound up joining the Water Tribe in order to get some formal combat training. This led to me fighting on the front lines when the Fire Nation laid siege. In the end, I lost a close friend and went on a rampage, which ended when I buried a tomahawk in Admiral's Zhao's neck. Which brings us to where we are now.

Coughing and half blinded from the salt water, I clawed my way up the beach, struggling to get out of reach of the water. Finally free of the unforgiving waves, I collapsed onto my back and looked up at the boiling gray sky overhead. Lightning flashed behind the clouds, and thunder rumbled like cannons in the distance. Yet there wasn't a single drop of rain falling. At least, not yet anyway.

I had been on one of the smaller ships in Pakku's relief fleet, heading to the Southern Water Tribe. I guess they needed an extra waterbender on said ship, so there I was. We were a short distance off the Earth Kingdom coast when we ran into a storm. As you can probably guess from my current situation, it didn't go well for the ship I was on.

Sitting on the beach, I looked out to sea and reflected on the choices in my life that had led me to this moment. I had just survived a ship wreck, and was now separated from my friends with no transportation and no supplies. Standing, I looked up and down the beach, studying the wreckage that had washed ashore and looking for other survivors. The storm had come upon us in the middle of the night and had been a surprise. Turns out even waterbenders can have a ship sink if they're not paying attention.

Feeling something bump against my foot in the surf, I looked down and realized with horror that I was looking at my bow. The body had been snapped in half, and the only thing holding it together was the drawsting. Just beyond that was my pack, thankfully intact and unopened.

"Well, at least one thing has gone right," I muttered, recovering both of my things before retreating away from the water's edge. After walking a short distance, I sat down on the edge of a sand dune and stared out to sea. Did the others know I was alive? Did they even know what had happened? I honestly had no idea.

Now I wasn't quite sure what to do next. If I sat tight, it was possible that another one of the other boats would be by looking for survivors and I could get picked up. My other option was to gather what was left of my stuff and start in the general direction of Omashu. I'd have left a note in the sand, but none of my companions could read English, and frankly I only barely had a kindergartener's grasp on the Chinese symbols that they wrote in.

Gathering up some brush and branches from the edge of the beach, I made myself a fire right there in the sand and plopped down. I'd play the waiting game for a while, and if that failed I'd decide what to do next. In the gloom of the light from the flames, I used some strips of leather in order to bind the two haves of my bow together. It wasn't much, in fact I wasn't sure it would survive the first shot I attempted. But it was better then nothing.

"Hurry up, old man," I muttered the waves as I stared out to sea, watching for Water Tribe sails.

I sat on that beach for three days, waiting.

Spring along the western Earth Kingdom coast is really nothing like the winter months. It's much warmer, greener, and abundant with natural resources. All of this went a certain way to distracting me from how pissed off I was at Pakku and the rest of the relief fleet. From what I could tell, none of the other vessels had turned about and checked for any survivors.

That didn't mean it didn't happen, but I hadn't seen any sign of Water Tribe ships from my small camp, and after three days I finally packed up and headed inland. I'd head toward Omashu, hoping to run into my friends along the way.

Little did I realize just how drastically things were about to change.

_Earth_.

John ignored the bead of sweat that ran down his temple as he walked down the gravel street. The sun bore down on him in an unforgiving manner, yet he ignored that as well, angling his head down slightly so that the brim of his hat blocked the rays from getting to his eyes. His plain, brown, knee high boots crunched on the gravel as he walked, but like the sun and the sweat, he ignored this also. He kept his steel colored eyes on his destination; the target range dead ahead.

He was wearing a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. Covering this was a dark brown vest which was buttoned up and only seemed to be holding heat in at the moment. Neither it, nor the slightly lighter colored trousers he wore were doing him any favors under this sun. To finish off the look, a pair of large leather gun belts crisscrossed at his waist, both of them supporting full rows of shinning brass cartages in their loops.

"And here he comes now, folks! Slim Jim Marlow, fastest gun in the west!" the announcer yelled into the speaker system, to which the crowd gave a round of applause. John hated that name, and he hated that title. The flare of anger inside of him only helped to seal the look of cold blooded gunfighter that he was suppose to be right now.

'Slim Jim' had been a joke nickname tacked onto him when he'd first started volunteering here at the museum as a historical reenactor, due to the fact that he was overweight and had some girth on his belly. Overtime, John had slimmed down to where his stomach was no longer a factor, however his broad shoulders remained, and thus the nickname did as well.

The whole 'fastest gun' thing had come about when it was discovered that he could out draw and out shoot anyone else at the museum for the staged gunfights and the action shooting segments. At first, the guys in charge had tried to get him to slow down, as the scripts for the acts called for John to get shot and lose. But, time after time, he'd simply gone with instinct and kept getting the faster draw. So they changed their approach. Rather than get John to slow down, they simply gave him his own act, knowing full well that the people would love to see someone with speed in action.

John came to a halt and spun on the balls of his feet, turning a full one eighty so that he was facing the small crowd of people. His hands rested lazily on the butts of his guns as he glossed them over. There were several families in the crowd. Children from Kindergarten age all the way up to High School. John had been out of school for a few years, and despite the fact that he had adult responsibilities now, he didn't envy any of the students one bit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this here is John Marlow, we call him Slim Jim. He is our fastest gun, and by far our best gunfighter. Show 'em what you got, Marlow!" the announcer said. John gave the pot bellied man a sideways glare as he turned back to fact the targets again. The fact that he'd gotten stuck with the nickname but this guy had gotten away scot free was another annoyance he had.

Keeping his mouth shut, John flexed his fingers and focused on the targets; three human shaped cuts of metal that were propped up several yards away. The announcer raised a small whistle to his lips and blew, giving off a short chirp of noise. In a flash, Jake's hands fell to his guns, and the air filled with smoke and thunder, as well as the ring of bullets striking steel.

As quickly as it began, it was over with both revolvers returned to their holsters. The crowd applauded again, and John turned and tipped his hat to them. Afterwards came the intermingling. People would ask questions, and either John or the announcer would answer. Most of the time it was directed toward John. What kind of guns did he use? How did he get so good with them?

"I use what's called the Schofield Model 3. They're top break revolvers originally made by Smith and Wesson, but these are modern reproductions," John explained, holding aloft one of his guns so that the people could see it. The revolver, like it's twin which rested on his left hip, was made from a blued steel and had a set of fine walnut grips on it.

"Are you using blanks?" some middle aged woman asked. John sighed though his nose, and it took every bit of will power he had not to roll his eyes. There was one in every crowd.

"No, I am not using blanks. The bullets on my belts here are real, and so are these guns. They are more or less modern firearms, just with an old west look," he explained. The questions began to taper off after that, and soon the crowd began to disperse, going out to see what else the museum had to offer. This left John, the announcer, and a couple of volunteers who helped set up this little area. John walked over to a table and began the process of reloading his guns, breaking one of them open and allowing the spent brass to spill out onto the tabletop.

"That was quite the performance, Mr. Marlow," a raspy voice said. John looked up from his work to find a man standing on the opposite side of the table from him. He was tall, towering at least a foot over John's head, and he was pale and gout. His skin was stretched thin over his cheek bones, and his hair was a thick gray color.

"Thank you, happy to entertain," John replied before returning his attention to his gun. Years of practice allowed him to slide new rounds into the empty chambers with nimble ease.

"You clearly have quite the skill. Tell me, have you ever put that skill to use?" the man asked. John snapped the revolver closed before returning it to it's holster, drawing it's twin, and starting the process over again.

"Sorry, mister. I only do this on weekends, I don't do parties," he said. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Every once in a while, you'd get a parent or something looking for an entertainment gig for their kid's birthday party. After all, why higher a clown when you could get a gunfighter?

"Oh, you misunderstand me, Mr. Marlow. I don't want you for entertainment, I want to put your skills to work," the old man said. John frowned and eyed the man as he slid the new rounds home into their chambers.

"You mean like a hired gun?" he asked.

"Something like that, yes," the man answered. John's frown remained as he took one last look over his revolver. Party favors were one thing, but this was the first time someone had actually tried to use him as a hired gun. With a short twirl, he returned the revolver to it's holster.

"Sorry, mister. I can't say that I'm interested," he said before he began to collect the spent casings from the table. It was true, in a sense. He did this because he loved history, and he loved teaching people about history. The whole shooting guns part was just an added bonus, and a stress relief from his daily college life if he was being honest. Never at any point did the idea of doing this for money cross his mind. Of course, there was also the possibility that whatever the man wanted him for, it was highly illegal. All the more reason to turn him down.

"Are you sure?" the old man asked.

"Mister, I'm a reenactor, not an actual gunman. Only reason I get called the fastest is cause I was able to outdraw anyone else who works here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for the next show," John explained. The man smiled, an act which chilled John's blood with how predatory it seemed.

"Mr. Marlow, you misunderstand me yet again. I was not asking," he said before placing his hand on John's forehead. Instantly, the young man's entire body seized up, and his vision went black.

* * *

John gasped as he came to and instantly shot to his feet. Gone were the targets, his coworkers, the buildings of the museum. In their place was a wide, dusty plain which stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. In the hazy distance were some snow caped mountains, but aside from that there were no visible features to be seen. Nothing but scrub and dust in all directions.

"What the hell?" John asked, spinning on the spot and looking around him. It wasn't so much panic that gripped him, but rather shock and surprise at the sudden shift in surroundings.

"You seem troubled, Mr. Marlow. Not use to being out of your element?" the old man asked. His attire had shifted, as he now wore clothing which resembled that of a Tibetan monk.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"I have brought you here for a simple task," the old man answered.

"You kidnapped me!"

"Yes. I did. And only I have the means of sending you back to where you came from," he said.

"So do it!" John yelled, his hand drawing one of his guns. But a single finger from the old man stopped him.

"I like to think of myself as a simple deal maker, Mr. Marlow. I have something you want, and I have a task that needs completing. Do you see how this works?" he asked.

"What do you want?" John asked hesitantly, his gun still drawn but hanging limply at his side.

"There is someone who's presence has given me quite a headache as of late. I want you to track him down and put an end to his presence," the old man replied. He opened his raised hand and above his open palm appeared the image of a young man. He didn't appear to be much older than a high school student, short coal black hair, dark skin, and a scar down his left cheek.

"I'm a reenactor, not a hired killer!"

"A trade is a trade, Mr. Marlow. The life of one Jacob Wood, in exchange for your own. Or, you can wander this world for the rest of your days and I will simply find another to do my work. The choice is yours," the man said simply.

"Kill him yourself if you're so high and mighty!" John snapped.

"There are laws that forbid my direct intervention. So you shall act in my stead. If you wish to see your family and friends again, Jacob Wood will die by your hand," the old man said.

"Where do I start looking? Where the hell are we, anyway?!"

"Time is ticking, Mr. Marlow. Best get started," the old man said before he turned to dust and was blown away by the breeze. John slowly returned his gun to it's holster. He would have thought he was crazy, if not for the fact that he was currently standing in the middle of no where.

"Could have at least dropped me in a town somewhere," he muttered before he started walking toward the mountains in the distance. Hopefully he'd come across someone before he died of dehydration, or boredom, whichever came first.

**And that's a wrap. New book, new characters, and new adventures await. What did you guys think? Let me know! Drop a review, leave a PM, tell me what you guys liked or didn't like and I'll see you all next time. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Let's get on with it, shall we? **

The ride south was easy, at first. I found a village not far from where I came ashore, and was able to barter some pelts I had in exchange for an ostrich horse. Not long after that, I acquired a rice hat from a drunk sleeping propped up against a fence in a rooster pig stall. The guy was so drunk he didn't even notice me taking it off his head. I dropped a copper piece in his lap and went on my way.

My bow was rather pitifully held together by my attempted repairs, and as such was in no condition for me to even consider using it. That left my revolver, which didn't have that many rounds left anyway. The best thing I could hope for now was finding my friends as quickly as possible, without getting into trouble.

Of course, things never seem go the way they should around me.

I was a few days down the coast when the coughing started. It began as an annoying scratch in the back of my throat that I couldn't get rid of in the morning, and by the time sunset was approaching it had progressed into fits that left me exhausted and breathless. Still, I kept riding. After all, the longer I lingered, the less likely I was going to be able to catch up to my friends in Omashu.

Coming up on a rise, I looked down and spied the lights of a village in the valley below me in the purple light of the evening. A decent nights rest and something warm to eat was all I needed, and then I could press on, leaving this annoying cough behind me. As I started down the ridge toward the village, another fit came over me.

My lungs screamed in agony as I coughed uncontrollably. Sweat formed on my brow and I felt myself grow weaker with each passing cough. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I lost my grip on the reins, and I fell from the saddle into the dust of the road. Time passed, and I just lay there, silently begging for the coughing to stop long enough for me to catch my breath, or for me to just blackout.

The soft glow of a lantern fell over me, although I couldn't see the source of the light or who was carrying it. By now, the coughing had slowed to the point where I could get some air in. My hands were shaking violently, and I was simply too weak to even try and raise my head, much less stand up.

"Father, stop, there's someone there in the road!" a young woman's voice came.

"Be careful, Aya, he looks sick," a man's voice replied. A set of hands appeared on my shoulder and rolled me onto my back. I gasped, my eyes bugging out as I was no longer able to breathe. The young woman who appeared in my vision looked surprised, and then concerned before she started trying to help me sit up.

"Aya!"

"He's can't breathe, father," she replied calmly, although I couldn't help but notice an annoyed tone. I had just gotten a breath of air in, when another coughing fit started. This time I was too weak to fight it, and I passed out.

_Where was I? Some beach? It wasn't any beach I could remember visiting. The sand was white, the water pristine and blue. Cliffs of black rock rose up on all sides, indicating that this was a secluded beach. Lush, tropical vegetation lined both the edge of the beach and the cliff tops high above. This wasn't anywhere I'd seen in the Earth Kingdom, and it sure as hell wasn't Montana._

_"You coming?" came Katara's voice. Turning, I found myself looking at a sight I almost couldn't believe. She was standing in the edge of the surf, her hair down with a hand on her hip, wearing a set of white wrappings that she usually had for undergarments and swimwear. There was something different about her though, and it took a moment of looking for me to realize what it was._

_Instead of her mother's necklace, it was my cord with my grandfather's medallions hanging around her neck._

_"Come on, we gotta go now if we want to catch the tide," she said._

I jerked awake and tried to sit up, only for my midsection to scream in protest and for a set of hands to stop me in my place. Another coughing fit racked me as I fell back onto the small bed I'd been laying on.

"Easy there, you're not in any condition to move," a young woman's voice said. As I struggled to regain my breath, I realized it was the young woman from earlier that had spoken. She had soft features, pale skin, and long dark hair pulled back into a single pony tail which stretched down to the small of her back. Her dress was a simple, sun faded green.

"I…need…get too," I tried.

"Rest now, don't talk," she said. I lost my fight to stay awake and slipped into the dark again.

"_Move, Charlie! You're blocking the TV!" I yelled. I was a kid again. Little, innocent, and incredibly pissed off. My older brother had come to a complete stop in front of the television and angled himself so that his frame almost completely blocked the screen. A grin of glee was plastered across his face. He knew exactly what he had done, and the torment it was causing me was no small source of amusement for him._

_"Too much TV will rot your brain, squirt," he said smugly. My face screwed up in rage, and I fell back on the one final resort every younger sibling goes to._

_"Mom! Dad!"_

_"Buachaill, sui!" came my father's voice from the other room. Instantly the grin was gone, and my brother landed on the couch next to me. Dad very rarely broke into Irish, but when he did, it was a sign that a line had been crossed. We both sat there, looking at our knees as he came into the living room. His face was unreadable, but his brown eyes were intense and filled with anger._

_"You two have been at each others throats all day. Either sit there and watch your show, or get some sticks, go outside, and beat each other to death. At this point, I don't care, just make a choice," he said, his voice unnervingly calm. I hated when he got like that. Yelling I could handle. It was the deathly calm that made my skin crawl and wish he'd just get whatever punishment he had in store out and over with already._

_Charlie looked at me, and I looked at him. Neither one of us made a move for the front door. Instead we both sat there in uncomfortable silence, watching the TV behind him. It was Avatar again, The Great Divide episode in fact. After a few moments of this, Dad nodded once before heading off toward his den again._

_"Start fightin' again and I'll send ya both outside. And make it good, cause I'm killing the winner," he said. I cast a glance at my brother, who was board and resting his chin on his fist as he watched the show._

_"What do you think, round two in Hell?" I asked._

_"Shut up, Morg."_

"We cannot keep him here, Aya. If the Fire Nation comes looking-"

"Why would they? We've paid the tax, we've caused no trouble. Why would they come here, father? What do they hope to gain from us?"

"If they discover him here, they'll burn everything we own." I struggled to get my eyes open. It was the young woman and man from earlier. They were standing outside of the room I was in, arguing about me apparently.

"We do what is right, no matter the cost. That is what you and mother taught me," the young woman said sternly.

"Aya, the Fire Nation took your mother because she stood for what she thought was right," the man said, the sound of defeat in his voice.

"Then what better way to uphold her memory then by doing what she would have done," the young woman replied. She made her way over to me, took a cool, damp rag, and pressed it to my forehead. I wanted to say something, but ended up drifting off again.

_The moon was blood red. I was back in the Northern Water Tribe. All around me were the dead. Fire Nation soldiers mainly. They'd all fallen in the same direction, like they were trying to get away from something. Each one of them had the same wounds; claw and bite marks. A howl pierced the night, causing me to look up and feel my blood run cold._

_There stood brilliant white wolf a short distance away, it's fur bathed in the red moonlight. It looked at me, as I looked back at it. Then, it snarled at me, baring it's blood soaked fangs. It's orange eyes glowed like coals on a dying campfire as it regarded me with an inhuman hunger. Before my eyes, it's form shifted, flickering back and forth between a wolf and a human. I realized with horror that the human I was looking at was me, standing there covered in gore and holding a bloody tomahawk._

_"Your choice, White Wolf. Now, suffer the consequence."_

I woke up again, this time due to a beam of sunlight shining in through a window, straight into my eyes. Sitting up was a struggle. My entire ribcage hurt, and despite having been asleep for who knows how long, I was exhausted. Looking around the room I was in, I instantly knew I had no idea where I even was.

The room itself was mostly wood and paper, even complete with one of those paper sliding doors. My bed was actually a pile of blankets on the floor rather than anything suspended off the ground, which went a long way to explaining why I felt so stiff. My throat felt raw and dry, yet I couldn't find any water around me. As if to answer a prayer, the young woman opened the door and stepped into the room, a clay pitcher held in her hands.

"You're awake," she said.

"Unfortunately," I replied hoarsely, my ribcage flaring up in pain.

"You were touch and go there for a while, I was starting to worry," she said.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Pneumonia. Thankfully, you've made it through the worst part, and you should be back on your feet in a few days," she said as she poured me a cup of water and handed it to me.

"Thank you, miss," I said as I took the cup.

"Aya, my name is Aya."

"Thank you, Aya." With that, I drank deeply, savoring the cooling sensation of the water as it gave relief to my throat. As I finished, I let out a cough or two, but thankfully didn't break into a full on fit again.

"Forgive me for asking, but are you the one they call Merlin?" she asked as I handed the cup back to her. My eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. My walking staff had been lost at the Northern Air Temple, and there really wasn't anything else I had left that could have identified me by that alias.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"The things you had on you when we found you. A broken bow, a pack full of several strange objects, looking like you were from the Water Tribe. It all fits the description we've been hearing," she explained.

"And what have you been hearing?"

"A wandering shaman or wise man, one with the ability to call down thunder to strike down his opponents," she said. I chucked at that, which led to a small coughing fit.

"I'm hardly any of those things. Just a traveler trying to get back to his friends," I said. Aya looked a little disappointed at that.

"That's a shame. I would have liked to have met him. The stories made him sound nice," she said. I gave her an apologetic smile before laying back down. My little experiment had gotten out of hand, and I was starting to regret it. Although, it was better than people knowing my actual name. This way, if they tried to bother me, I could just shrug it off and say it wasn't me.

With everything going on with Aang, I didn't need people trying to corner me to do magic for them. I was many things; hunter, bender, to name a couple. But not magician, wizard, or miracle worker. It was better for everyone involved if I just moved on rather than trying to help. Of course, what was better and what actually ended up happening were two totally different things.

It was a couple of days later when I finally was able to move around on my own. I wasn't quite able to travel just yet, but I was able to move about the house without trouble. In fact, I was just finishing putting my things back together in preparation to depart when Aya's father came inside holding his hand wrapped in a bloody cloth.

"What happened?" Aya demanded when she saw his state as he sat down at the main table.

"I cut myself on the plow," he grunted in reply. He sounded like he was in plain, but also incredibly annoyed at having been inconvenienced like this. Aya sat down across from him and undid the makeshift bandage. Blood flowed freely from a rather large gash across the palm of his hand, spilling down onto the table top in no time at all.

"Get me some water," I said.

"Do you have medical training?" he asked.

"In a sense, but I need water," I answered. Aya did as I asked, and got a small pitcher of water. I bent the liquid from it's container and allowed it to envelop my hand before I placed it over his. The water glowed with a brilliant blue light, causing both of their faces to glow with amazement and awe. After a short time, the water was used up and the light faded. On his hand, the cut had become a faint scar.

"Magic," Aya breathed.

"Waterbending," I corrected. Aya's father clasped his hand into a fist a couple of times, testing it. His face lit up into a smile at the lack of pain.

"Thank you, I…" he paused for a moment before standing and heading off into a side room. I looked at Aya with a raised eyebrow. She looked just as confused as I did. He came back quickly, holding a bow in his hands.

"Here. A replacement for the one that you broke," he said, offering it to me.

"But, what about you guys?"

"I have another. Please, take it, as a sign of my thanks," he said. I took the bow and looked it over. It was a simple, curved hunting bow. Nothing too flashy or eloquent, certainly not the same quality as my old bow. But it was powerful enough to get the job done.

"Thank you," I said.

"No, thank you."

I left Aya and her father the following morning, continuing my journey south. My body still had some after effects of being sick, but I felt well enough to stay in the saddle. The journey was mostly a blur. In all honesty, I wasn't entirely sure where I was going. Omashu, sure, but how to actually get there was a little up in the air.

The landscape began to change more as I went. It became more arid and more uneven as I got closer to the mountains that the city was apart of. I was partly worried about the possibility of a lack of water, but my hope was that I could make it to the city before that became a major issue.

As the sun finally began to set in the west, I came across a large slow moving river with steep, stony banks. I slid down from the saddle and led my ostrich horse to the water's edge, allowing the large beast of burden a chance to drink while I crouched down to refill my canteen. How much further was it to Omashu anyway? A day's ride? Two? I wasn't sure.

A black and white lemur suddenly landed on my canteen, knocking it from my hand in a sudden splash of water. I jumped up in surprise, annoyed due to the fact that I was now soaking wet and that I was going to have to go after my canteen before it either floated away or sank. The lemur looked up at me from the water, chattering up a storm.

"Damnit, Momo," I said. Then realization finally caught up with me, and I did a double take. Momo? What was he doing here? Wait, if he was here, then that meant…

"Morgan?" I felt my heart soar with hope at that voice. I looked, and sure enough, there they were. Aang, sitting on Appa's head, Sokka with an arm load of camping equipment, and Katara with several water skins ready to be filled from the river. They were all only a dozen yards downstream, and somehow I had missed them almost entirely.

"You're alive!" Aang shouted as he jumped down from his perch and rushed me. Both Katara and Sokka dropped what they were doing and came as well. Being as she was the closest, Katara reached me first. The hug she enveloped me in was more of a tackle, and if I hadn't braced for it we both would have fallen into the dirt. Unfortunately, both Aang and Sokka barreled into us at the same time, and that did send us falling on our butts. Even Appa came over and laid down so that his head was resting on top of the dogpile.

"Nice to see you guys too," I groaned out from all the weight. Still, I couldn't help the massive smile that had come over my face and the warm feeling in my chest. I was finally back with my friends, on familiar ground once again.

* * *

John wiped the sweat from his brow as he approached the small cluster of tents. Wait, not tents, they were sleds of some kind. Like a boat, built for the arid landscape around them. The people manning them were all wearing desert wrappings. Not even their eyes were exposed to the elements as they wore a set of goggles to block out dust and sand. They were all clustered around a low circular structure made of sandstone, a well.

This was John's primary focus. He had been walking for so long under this unforgiving sun that his throat was raw. His lips were chapped, and his mouth was dry. Water. He needed water, or else he would die under this sun. That was something he simply refused to do.

"Please, water," he begged in a raspy voice as he approached the well. The men standing around the well looked at him like vultures ready to descend upon their next meal. He could tell in their stances, their folded arms, the way their gazes never strayed away from him. One of them walked away from the others, closing the distance between the two of them.

"Water costs coin," he said, holding up his hand and rubbing his fingers together.

"Mister, please," John begged again.

"Show me some gold, and you can have all you can drink," the man said. John felt exasperated. He didn't have anything on him besides some pocket change that he had been going to use to buy something cool to drink in the museum's saloon later.

"I don't have any gold," he said.

"Silver?" the man asked. John dug into his pockets and handed over the change he had. The man took the few coins and looked them over. Then he shook his head, and to John's dismay, he dropped them into the sand between their feet.

"Not even worth a mouthful. Keep walking stranger, you have no business here," he said.

"If I keep going I'll die of thrust," John argued.

"Then make sure to do it close by. I don't want to have to go all the way out into the desert just to pluck your body clean," came the reply as the man turned away. At that moment, John realized that none of the men around the well cared if he lived or died out here. Judging by the way some of them had their hands on knife hilts, they were more than prepared to do what it took to keep him from getting to it.

If he kept walking, he'd be dead by the time the sun reached it's peak in the sky. If he rushed the well, he'd be stabbed more times than Ceaser. That meant he had only one option left if he wanted out of this alive.

"Wait. I have one metal left," he said. The man stopped and looked back toward him curiously.

"Copper?" he asked, almost laughing with how pathetic he found this.

"Lead," came the steely reply. John forced himself not to think as he drew one of his revolvers, leveled it at the man, and fired. Blood exploded out of the back of the man's neck, and he fell backwards into the sand, stone dead. For a moment, it was silent as everyone looked on in stunned silence. Only the fading report of the gunshot could be heard.

Then, all hell broke loose.

The men let out yells of anger over their slain friend, many of them drawing knives and charging John. As for John, a sort of focused rage had fallen over him. In a flash, his second gun was in his hand, and both revolvers were thundering and belching fire. All those years of practice were now paying off with lethal results.

One of the men caught a bullet in the knee and fell to the ground, hard. He swung his fist upward, sending a pillar of sand at John. In his adrenalin fueled state, John easily dodged the attack and promptly shot the man in the forehead. He didn't have time to process what had just happened, only that if he wanted to live, he need to keep shooting.

Another man came in close, intending to stab him in the heart with a dagger. John sidestepped the attack and clubbed the man over the head with one of his guns before he turned and shot the one following him twice in the chest at point blank range. The second attacker was so close that the front of his tunic caught fire from the muzzle blasts.

John didn't have time to process this either as the now lifeless body fell onto him. He simply shoved the man aside and focused on the few remaining men standing between him and life giving water. They paused in their attack and realized that all of their comrades were either dead in the sand, or were bleeding out and soon to follow the first group into the afterlife.

Wisely, they chose to turn and run, rather than face down this demon that had just walked out of the desert and slain so many of them so easily. They mounted one of the sand boats, pointed it in the opposite direction of John, and promptly vanished into a cloud of dust. The young man watched them go with narrow eyes as he broke open his guns and began to reload them. He'd let them go. For now, he needed to sate his thirst.

With this done, John began to look back amongst the bodies. Now that the heat of the moment was gone, his stomach churned at the sight of what he had done, and at how easily he had done it. He silently beat those feelings back down as best as he could. They were going to let him die of thirst, he reminded himself, justifying that he had done what he had done in order to survive.

Looking down at his feet, John realized that one of them was still alive. The man he clubbed over the head to be exact. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, John picked him and shook him back into consciousness.

"Your friends, where they goin'?" he asked.

"Misty Palms Oasis, if I had to guess," came the fearful reply.

"That anywhere near civilization?"

"It's the main trading hub between the sandbender tribes and the rest of the country, sits right on the edge of the desert," he answered. John figured a sandbender was probably what the guy that threw magic sand at him was. A trading hub was a good place to start, be it if he wanted to find someone or just wanted to go somewhere.

"You're gonna take me there, or you're gonna be another ghost that wanders this desert, you understand," he said, leveling his revolver in the man's face.

"Alright, alright, I'll take you, just don't kill me," the man pleaded.

"That part's not off the table yet," John answered with a cold voice.

**And cut. New developments for Morgan, and a little more is revealed about John. What do you guys think? Let me know! Drop a review, send a PM, let me know what you guys liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, I'm back with a long overdue chapter. Let's not keep you waiting, so let's get into it. **

I waited patently among the reeds, my fingers curled around the string of my bow, ready to draw back. In front of me stood Aang, roughly twenty yards away or so. He was wearing his usual swim attire, but had his hands up in a bending ready position. Like him, I had stripped down some for this practice exercise, wearing only a pair of trousers and my quiver on my back. I moved forward slowly and silently, so as to not draw attention to myself.

When I closed the distance another five yards, I drew my arrow back and let it fly. Aang reacted the instant my fingers released the draw sting, turning and making a slashing uppercut motion with his hand. A thin wall of water shot upward, slicing the arrow in half mid-flight, causing both halves to veer off and miss him entirely.

I didn't hesitate, drawing and firing another arrow before the two halves of the first had even hit the water behind him. This time, rather than some waterbending, he used a fancy airbending trick to not only catch the arrow, but throw it back at me. The arrowhead may have been little more than a blunted ball, but it still hit my shoulder with enough force to knock me off my feet into the water.

As I sat up, spitting out river water, the sound of Aang's laughter reached my ears. I looked, and realized that he was both pointing and laughing in my direction.

"Airbending beats archery, Morgan!" he called. He was so caught up in his laughter that he had no time to react as a tentacle of water formed out of the river around him. It snatched the boy up, devolving his laugh into a surprised yelp, before throwing him down river, skipping him over the water like he was a throwing stone.

"Still losing focus," Katara said with a sigh, shaking her head. At sight of her, I felt my mouth go dry. She was wearing her usual swimming attire, which consisted of white bindings around her chest, waist and hips. I'd always found Katara to be attractive, but seeing her in revealing attire such as this was enough to put me in awe. Our recent relationship developments didn't help matters in the slightest.

"At least he's getting practice in case we run into the Yuyan again," I pointed out as I came out of the reeds, bow in hand.

"Are you guys almost done? We got a lot of ground to cover if we want to make to Omashu today," Sokka said as he floated nearby on a large leaf. Like the rest of us, he was stripped down to the basics.

"Oh, like you're ready to go right now, naked guy?" Katara asked, whipping around to face her brother.

"I can be ready in five minutes, tops. Seriously, anytime," he answered without so much as changing his posture. Katara and I shared a look before I made a rolling motion with my wrist. With a yelp, Sokka's leaf was flipped, dumping him into the water.

"I don't think I can close the distance anymore with my arrows without seriously hurting Aang," I said, ignoring the string of water logged curses that came from Sokka's direction. Before he could do anything in retaliation, the sound of music and singing came drifting through the trees. A small group of people dressed in bright colors and playing instruments came strolling down the path.

"Hey, River People!" the leader of the group said, stopping and pointing at us.

"We're not river people," Katara said as Sokka came up out of the water, his anger at me forgotten.

"You're not? Well then what kind of people are you?" the guy asked.

"Just...people," Aang replied as he came sloshing back to us.

"Aren't we all, brother?" the guy said in a happy-go-lucky fashion. I groaned. This guy and his little band were hippies, or a variation of them anyway. I'd seen people like this come around the park back home. They thought that if they showed love and positive vibes, they could become in tune with nature. They usually got mauled by a bear.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked pointedly.

"I'm Chong, and this is my wife Lily. We're nomads, happy to go wherever the wind takes us!" he replied before strumming his lute like he was a rock star. I coughed a few times while glaring at the newcomer. He was going to get annoying fast, I could tell. A hand appearing on my shoulder took my focus off of the hippies and back to Katara.

"We'd better do a check up on you," she said in a worried tone before taking me by the wrist and leading me away from the others. She'd been like this ever since I'd reunited with the group and learned of my encounter with pneumonia. Every time I coughed, she'd start checking me over to make sure I was recovering like I was suppose to. Not that I minded all that much. It usually meant I got to spend some time with her away from the others without having to come up with an excuse why.

When we were a short distance away, she sat me down on a fallen log and began to bend some water around my midsection. My body let out an involuntary shutter as the coolness of the liquid settled in, but otherwise it felt pretty good.

"You haven't started coughing anything up, have you?" she asked as the water began to glow.

"No."

"Good. Your breathing seems fine. Lungs seem to be recovering nicely," she said.

"You're telling me you don't do this just to get a second alone with me?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at her playfully. Katara looked back over her shoulder toward the others. Sokka had snatched Momo from his head and was using the lemur to cover himself while he headed toward shore and his clothes. Satisfied that no one was watching, she turned back and gave me a quick kiss.

"That's part of it," she admitted, "but still, don't overdo it. We can't afford anyone getting seriously ill."

"I'll be fine, mom, don't worry," I replied, earning a smack on the arm from her. We all got dressed, and soon the wandering nomads were playing with everyone's hair. Well, almost everyone's hair. For Aang, they made a crown woven out of flowers while they had braided Appa and Katara's long locks. When the shorter, fat member of the group, Moku, I think, tried to go after me, I nearly took his fingers off with my hunting knife.

Both Sokka and I were in agreement that these nomads were mainly harmless, but infuriatingly simple and annoying. While I was content to mainly keep my distance get things packed up and ready for that day's length of travel, Sokka was more focused on putting distance between us and the nomads.

"You need to focus less on where you're going, and more on how you get there," Chong said, causing me to roll my eyes.

"O. MA. SHU," came Sokka's reply. If he was anything, the Water Tribe warrior was practical. Omashu, aside from being the place where Aang would learn earthbending, was a fortress. Outside of the capital, Ba Sing Se, Omashu was the last great Earth Kingdom stronghold. That meant food, shelter, and safety from the Fire Nation. Focusing more on the journey like Chong suggested just meant a higher chance of eating fire balls.

"Sokka's right. We need to find King Bumi, so Aang can learn earthbending," Katara said.

"Sounds like you're headed to Omashu," Chong said. I don't think Sokka and I could have timed our facepalms more perfectly if we had tried.

"There's an old story about a secret pass through the mountains," Chong continued.

"Is this real or a legend?" Katara asked.

"Oh, it's a real legend!" came the reply, which garnered another facepalm from me.

I won't bore you with the step by step details of what happened next. Long story short, none of us had anticipated that the Fire Nation forces in the area had been heavily reinforced since last fall. So when we tried to fly over the mountains like originally planned, we found ourselves under heavy anti air attack. It was so bad even Sokka opted to go back to the nomads and inquire about this secret pass.

Here's where the couple of details Chong left out/forgot came into play. The first was that this 'secret pass' wasn't all that secret. This was evident by the fact that as we approached the passage entrance, the Fire Nation garrison was swarming in around us. Second was the reason that no one really used this 'secret pass' was because it was a maze of tunnels running all under the mountain.

Actually, Chong didn't mention that last part until we literally had no other choice but to flee into the darkness of the tunnel entrance in order to escape the Fire Nation. Instead of chasing us, the enemy just collapsed the entrance behind us. They'd let the mountain do their dirty work, rather than risk their own lives.

That's how I found myself wandering a cave system with a few friends and a band of idiots, wondering how I had allowed my short life to lead to this. Sokka at least had the brilliant idea to try and map out the tunnels as we went, lessening our chances of getting lost. But, this only went on for about two hours or so as we reached dead end after dead end.

"Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you've lead us to," Katara said, voicing my own observation. He looked at his map closer and then tilted it a few times in confusion.

"This doesn't make sense, we've already come through this way," he said.

"We don't need a map. We just need love. The little guy knows it," Chong said, pointing at me. I blinked at him.

"I'm taller than you are. Also, leave me out of it," I replied.

"There's only one explanation; the tunnels are changing," Sokka said, ignoring us. I was about to state how ridiculous that was, but stopped myself. We were in a world where people could move several ton boulders with a thrust of their fist. The tunnels changing wasn't just a possibility, it was pretty much the only likely answer.

Of course, this immediately sent Chong into a panic.

"The tunnels, they're a changing! I knew we shouldn't have come down here!" he said frantically.

"Right, if only we'd listened to you," Sokka replied sarcastically. It was getting to the point that I was starting to wonder how this guy was able to function on a basic level. At that point, I heard something come from the darkness around us. A low snarl.

"Someone shut him up! Listen!" I snapped. Chong stopped his panic, and everyone listened. Then, following the noise, from out of the shadows came a swarm of wolf bats. Wolfbats, for the record, aren't nearly as terrifying as I originally envisioned them. I was expecting some massive wolf bat hybrid monster that would eat your face off. Turns out, they're basically just bats with tiny wolf faces on them. Still, a little unsettling, but no where near the monster levels I'd been hyping myself up for.

Unfortunately, not everyone in the group shared this mentality. I don't remember who it was exactly, but in the chaos of the bats someone dropped a torch. The flames of this action reared up and spooked Appa, sending the flying bison into a frenzy. Now a two ton bison is scary enough when riled up out in the open. Here, in the cramped spaces of the cave, it was an instant recipe for disaster.

The rampaging bison slammed into the walls, which in turn lead to a cave in. I acted on instinct, tackling the closest person to me in order to get them out of the way. That person just so happened to be Katara. As the dust cleared, two things became apparent. One, it was just Katara, Appa, and myself, with a mountain of rock now between us and the others. Two, there was a single torch to last us until we managed to find our way out.

"You alright?" I asked, coughing a little on the settling dust.

"Yeah, you?" Katara asked in response. I gave her a simple nod. Picking up the torch, I began to look over the cave in, studying it in the gloom. I may not have been an expert on caves, but I knew a hopeless cause when I saw one. Appa began to use his forward paw in order to dig at the rock pile. At least he wasn't freaking out anymore.

"Well, unless Aang developed earthbending sometime in the past ten minutes, I don't think we're getting out this way," I said.

"So what, we just keep walking and hope for the best?" Katara asked.

"Pretty much all we can do, unless someone wants to try and bash his way out of here again," I answered, directing the last part at Appa. The sky bison simply turned his head and blew his nostrils at me.

"Morgan," Katara chastised. I put my hands up in surrender and didn't press the issue. We started walking, and things stayed that way for a while. The only way to tell the passage of time was the torch's length getting shorter and shorter.

"This isn't what I had in mind when I said I wanted to spend some more time alone with you," I said. She snorted, but smiled.

"This isn't what I had in mind either," she agreed. I took her hand in mine and gave it a quick squeeze. She returned the gesture, and we continued on in silence. After a while, we came across another stone wall. This time, you could tell it had been carved by hand, and there was a breeze.

"That must be the way out," Katara said hopefully. We both shoved on the door, but it refused to budge even an inch. This thing was designed with an earthbender in mind, no way were we going to move it by ourselves. A snort came from behind us, and I turned to find Appa had squared his stance and was scraping a forward paw along the floor. Grabbing Katara by the hand, I pulled her out of the way just as the bison charged.

The door flew open, and the bison let out a roar of satisfaction. Waving away the dust, we stepped through the doorway after him. It wasn't the light at the end of the tunnel like we had been hoping, but a massive room with statues carved out of the stone. Katara's face fell in the dim torchlight.

"This isn't an exit," she said.

"Looks more like a memorial or a temple or something," I added.

"Or a tomb," she finished softly. We walked into the room with caution, slowly looking it over. There wasn't any fancy decoration, just stone carvings and dust. The place was old, probably thousands of years if I had to guess.

"This must be the tomb of the lovers from the legend," Katara said as she raised the torch and looked over the carvings.

"It's the story of how Omashu was founded," I said, running a hand over the images.

"You know it?" I nodded.

"I don't remember all the details. Only reason I remember it is cause of how similar it was to a story back home," I said.

"There was a lovers legend in Montana?"

"Of course there are. But, it wasn't in Montana. It was a far away city called Warsaw," I said with a shrug.

"Warsaw? I've never heard of that," she said.

"I'm not surprised. According to legend, Warsaw was founded on the site of where a fisherman named Wars fell in love with a mermaid named Sawa," I explained.

"A mermaid?" Katara asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you know, upper body of a human, lower body of a fish."

"I know what a mermaid is, Morgan. I'm just surprised you'd listen to a story like that," she said. I shrugged again before brushing some dust away.

"I listened to all kinds of stories when I was growing up. My grandpa use to tell me stories of our tribe all the time," I said.

"You still hardly ever talk about your past," she noted, her voice a little softer now. I reached up and grasped the metals on my necklace. Beside them was the wolf head medallion that Kate had given to me at the North Pole. My heart clenched as I thought about those that I had lost.

"It's not...it's not easy, thinking about home," I admitted.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" Katara asked. I sighed.

"One day. For now, let's just focus on getting out of here," I replied, letting go of the metals. We looked around the room some more, but other than finding a single other exit, there didn't seem to be any clue as to how to get out. All the while, the torch was getting shorter and shorter, meaning we were running out of time before being plunged into total darkness.

Handing the torch off to Katara, I knelt down and began to dig through my pack. After some rummaging around, I came up with a couple of red sticks, causing me to frown before I began to dig some more. I could have sworn I had more than that in there.

"Hey, those are the things you used at the Northern Air Temple," Katara said when she noticed what was in my hand.

"Flares. My only two left apparently," I said, giving up on my pack and standing back to my full height.

"That's not too bad right? I mean they're a source of light we can use when the torch goes out."

"Not really. They only last about fifteen minutes a piece," I said.

"So we're back to square one," she said with a defeated sigh.

"Well, square one plus a half hour," I said, earning a glare from her. We fell into another long silence, with Katara using the torch to look over the carvings of the legend while I just stared at the flares in my hand. There had to be a way to keep the dark at bay with what we had. I was missing something, I could feel it, nagging at me. But what? What was I forgetting?

"Hey, Morgan?"

"Yeah?"

"I have an idea," she said.

"I hope so, cause I'm fresh out," I said.

"The legend says we'll be trapped in here forever unless we trust in love, right?" I shrugged.

"I guess, I wasn't paying attention to Chong."

"Well, it says here, 'love is brightest in the dark' and it shows the lovers kissing," she said, pointing to a carving. I walked over and studied the carving a little closer.

"You think an act of love will do something?" I asked.

"I don't know, maybe?" she said, a little embarrassed. That didn't escape my notice.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just...it's a stupid idea, forget I said anything," she replied, turning away a little quickly. I looked between her and the carving, a confused frown forming on my face. In her hand, the torch flame got a little smaller, and the light got a little dimmer.

"Hey, what's got you so how and bothered? It's not like we've never kissed before," I said.

"Yeah, I know, it's just..." she trailed off and sighed, "it says 'love'. And Morgan, please, please don't take this the wrong way. I like you and care about you, a lot, but, I'm not sure if it's love yet, you know?"

"You're worried it won't be enough," I said, looking at the carving and not at her.

"Kind of? I feel...I feel like it's trying to pressure me into something I'm not ready to admit yet, if that makes any sense," she said.

"How long we been together? About a month now?" I asked. I couldn't remember exactly, as hectic as our lives were.

"That sounds about right."

"I don't know how things work in the Water Tribe, but back home, that's a little quick to be throwing 'I love you' around in a relationship," I said.

"Really?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "I'm a bow hunter, not a love guru. When it comes to stuff in this department, I'm usually flying by the seat of my pants."

"So we both have no idea what we're doing. That's great," she said, sounding a little bitter at that. I stepped forward and took her hand.

"My dad always said that it happens when it happens. We'll get there at our own pace, no one else's," I reassured.

"So, you don't mind if I'm not entirely sure that I love you?" she asked.

"Same boat as you, sweetheart. Not entirely sure of anything," I said, stepping back and making a wide, sweeping gesture over myself. Then I stepped forward and took her hand again.

"But, I'm a hunter. I'm patient enough to wait for the right moment." Katara gave me a warm smile before closing the distance between us and kissing me. At that moment, the torch finally burned out, and plunged us into darkness.

For a total of about ten seconds.

The room was suddenly bathed in a soft, pale green light. Breaking the kiss in confusion, we both looked up and realized where the light was coming from. Hundreds of luminescent crystals lined the ceiling, leading off in a path down the lone tunnel we had found as the exit.

"Glowing crystals?" I asked, arching my eyebrow.

"Of course! That's how the lovers found each other. They just put out their lights and followed the crystals," Katara said, putting two and two together.

"A string to get through the maze," I mused.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Looks like that's the way out," I said, pointing after the crystals.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go," Katara said, dropping the burnt out torch and heading off after the path of light. Appa grumbled and began to follow, along with me as well.

Upon reaching the outside, the sky bison reared up on his hind paws and let out a loud bellow before flopping straight on his back and rolling around. He was a creature of the sky, finally free again. Both Katara and I just looked on in amusement.

"Well, assuming Sokka hasn't lost his mind and killed everyone yet, I suppose we better figure out a way to find them," I said. At that moment, the mountainside shook and two sections of rock exploded outward on either side of the tunnel entrance. A pair of badgermoles appeared, standing proud in the sunlight. Sokka and Aang rode on one, while the nomads rode the other.

"Never mind, problem solved," I said as the two dismounted and hurried over to us.

"How did you two get out?" Aang asked.

"Glowing crystals in the ceiling that only show up when the lights are out," I answered.

"Really? We let giant mole monsters lead our way out," Sokka said before they turned and waved at the badgermoles as they retreated back into the tunnels and closed up the holes behind them. Katara's bright smile turned to a frown as she noticed her bother's face. There was a rather large red mark in the middle of his forehead.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked. Before he could answer, Chong slunk up behind him.

"Nobody react to what I'm about to say, but I think this kid might be the Avatar," he said. Sokka stared at him for a full thirty seconds before slamming his palm into his forehead. As a result, the red mark grew larger, and Chong just stared on in wonder.

* * *

Thankfully, we parted ways from the nomads and made our way up the mountainside. Everyone was generally in a good mood, although I think it was mostly just being happy to be back out in the open air again. I'd never seen Omashu in person, but I remembered it from the show and had heard it described, so I was looking forward to it. Plus it would be nice to relax and not have to worry about things for a while.

"The journey was long, and annoying. But now we get to see what the journey is really about, the destination!" Sokka said, taking the lead. He crested the hill first and made a wide gesture before him.

"The Earth Kingdom city of O...oh no," he said. We came up behind him, and instantly realized what was wrong. Omashu was carved from a mountain top, giving it a pointed cone like structure. Around it was a massive canyon that should have served as a natural barrier. Instead, several metal bridges were extended across the gap, and a massive banner was draped over the main gate.

It was the red and black symbol of the Fire Nation.

**And cut. That's all for this time. I had some trouble with this chapter, mainly cause I had a slight case of writer's block and computer trouble. But I finally got it out. Also, for those of you making the comparison, John Marlow is not a representation of John Marsden from the Red Dead series. He's based off of a real life friend of mine who goes by the alias of 'Slim Jim' in his reenactment carrier. John and Arthur will appear in my Red Dead story when the time comes. **

**But for now, you know what to do. Drop a review, leave a PM, let me know what you all liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. I've kept you waiting long enough over the past few months so let's get on with it: **

The city of Omashu was a sight to behold, even with the Fire Nation banners everywhere. From the looks of things, the residents had taken a page from the Air Nomads and literally carved their city from the peak of a mountain. However, given that it was a city and not a temple, it was way bigger and WAY more densely packed. Buildings almost seemed to be built on top of each other as they went up the slope toward the peak of the mountain.

"Place has got Fire Nation crawling all over it. I don't even have the slightest idea on where to start looking," I said as I lowered my binoculars. We were on the far side of the canyon from the city, trying to find a way in to find Bumi without being spotted.

"Aang, I know you had your heart set on Bumi for a teacher, but I think it's best we move on," Katara said.

"No. I'm going in. This isn't about a teacher, it's about a friend," Aang replied.

"The city is huge. Any idea where they'd be keeping him?" Sokka asked.

"Someplace he couldn't earthbend, someplace made of metal," the Avatar answered. I raised my binoculars again and looked over the city. Finally, I settled on one area that seemed to be reasonable.

"There's a lot of scaffolding and a big ass metal statue near the peak. If I was going looking for an imprisoned earthbender, I'd start there," I advised. Aang seemed to beam at the news.

"Great, let's go! I know a secret way in!" he said, eagerness in his voice. We all climbed aboard Appa, and Aang guided the flying bison down into the canyon surrounding the city. Along the cliff face, well below the edge of the city, there was a large metal grate. The young airbender jumped from the head of his bison and began to pry at the grate with his staff.

"A secret passage? Why didn't we just use this last time?" Sokka asked. At that moment, the grate burst open, allowing a large blob of raw sewage to go tumbling down into the canyon below. The Water Tribe Warrior reacted with an appropriate amount of disgust.

"Does that answer your question?" Aang asked. Sliding onto Appa's head, I took control of the reigns.

"You three go on. I'll take Appa and set up a base camp," I said.

"What, afraid of a smelly sewer?" Sokka teased.

"No. I can't track over solid rock. Unless we get into a fight, I'd be next to useless in there," I reasoned. Sokka gave a shrug.

"Eh, suit yourself," he said before swinging into the tunnel after his friend and sister. I cracked the reins and Appa flew up and out of the canyon, using the failing light of the dusk to our advantage. It took a little bit, but I eventually found a small, sheltered valley not far from the city. It had ample water, and decent enough foliage to keep the sky bison fed for a while.

As I sat under the star filled sky, silently cooking a rabbit squirrel over the fire, I couldn't help but feel a little on edge. This was suppose to be the time that Aang and the group encountered Azula. Now my memory of the show was hit and miss, but there was one thing I did remember; the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation was no joke.

I don't know what Aang's plan was after he found Bumi. What I did know was that with each passing hour, our chances of running into Azula increased. For the first time, I found that waiting around patiently wasn't doing me any good.

"You seem troubled," a voice said. My head shot up at the unexpected voice. Sitting across the fire from me was the little girl spirit that had appeared to me before. She hadn't changed a bit since the last time I had seen her.

"What do you want? I thought you were sworn not to interfere," I said with a hint of bitterness. It had been made abundantly clear that whatever happened was totally up to me. There would be no aid from the more mystical forces of the universe.

"Another Spirit has introduced an unforeseen variable. Your life and the lives of your friends are in danger," she said. I rolled my eyes and went back to cooking my supper. We were being hunted by the Fire Nation and traveling on our own. Our lives were in danger every time we stepped into a bush to pee.

"What, did you guys get broard and decide to summon Godzilla or something?" I asked.

"No. A man, a proficient wielder in these weapons you call arms of fire," she said. I looked up again and cocked my eyebrow at her.

"You mean firearms?" I asked. She nodded, not seeming to have realized her mistake in speaking.

"Yes. I believe your world refers to him a slinger of guns? I'm not sure if that's right."

"A gunslinger," I corrected before looking at my supper again. This was worrying, if not for any other reason than I simply knew almost nothing about this supposed new enemy. Was he an actual gunman from the Old West, or a modern professional shooter? The answer to that question alone would determine what I did with this information.

"Do you know anything else?" I asked.

"Only that he has been tasked to hunt you down and kill you," she replied.

"That's helpful," I muttered, a hint of bitterness returning to my voice. The Spirit actually looked like she felt sorry for me.

"I wish I could do more, but as you know."

"You're forbidden to interfere. My life, my choice," I finished. She only nodded. A sudden revelation struck me, and a twinge of panic settled into my chest. What if this new threat was in league with Azula or the Fire Nation? What could result from that, I didn't even want to think about.

"Just tell me, where is this gunslinger? With the Fire Nation?" I asked.

"No. He is to the east, between you and the Earth Kingdom Capital," she answered. Well, good, that was one thing I didn't have to worry about for the moment.

"You have much greater trials ahead of you, Jacob. Good luck," she said before turning to dust and vanishing on the breeze.

* * *

I was expecting the others to come back with one or maybe two other people, not literally half of the city. The crowd that Sokka and Katara led could have numbered in the hundreds easily, maybe even the thousands. Even stranger, all of them had red marks all over their skin like chicken pox. I was standing on a small bare rise over looking the campsite, watching the stream of people stretch all the way back to the city gates.

"I hope you two realize that I only made enough food for four or five people," I called down to them as they got close. Sokka gave a nonchalant wave of his hand.

"Way ahead of you. The guards were so terrified of the pentapox that they didn't notice us clearing out the lower levels of the city of supplies," he said. I slid down the incline and stared walking alongside the siblings.

"Pentapox?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Katara.

"It was the best I could come up with on the fly," she replied, her cheeks gaining some color.

"So, you guys went in there looking for one guy, and came back with half the city. Clearly I'm missing something here," I said.

"These people were apart of the local resistance. Aang managed to convince them to leave the city and we helped them get out," Sokka explained.

"And where is Aang now?" I asked.

"He went back to look for Bumi," Katara said. I paused and looked back toward the city. Aang was able to handle himself, I was well aware of that fact. But he was still my friend, so of course I was going to be worried about him.

"Let's get these people set up in a camp. If he's not back by sunset, Sokka, you and I are going in after him," I said. Katara gave me a glare.

"And why not me, huh? I'm the better bender of the two of us," she pointed out.

"And both Sokka and I have more experience at tracking and hunting," I replied.

"So why not send Sokka and I then? You said yourself you couldn't track over solid rock," she pointed out. Sokka actually snorted at that.

"You want to leave Morgan in charge of all these people? I mean he's a good cook but his people skills are just the worst," he said, earning a glare from me.

"Thanks, ass." He gave a friendly nod as if I had just thanked him politely.

"But, unfortunately, he's right. Your people skills are way better than mine," I reluctantly conceded. Katara let out an annoyed huff, but I could see the argument was starting to sway her.

"Fine," she finally said. We set up a rather large camp in a narrow valley a short distance away from the city. Close enough we could still see the smoke from the new industrial elements, but far enough away we'd have some warning if the city garrison suddenly decided they wanted to come after us. Katara helped organize the people into some sort of order rather than an unruly mob. Sokka and I did too, but to a much lesser degree. I wound up being relegated to maintaining a fire and a cooking pot at my original campsite after losing my temper with a group of pottery makers on having to explain why you don't dig a latrine anywhere near a water source.

Thankfully, Sokka and I didn't have to go into the city to look for Aang. The kid showed up at the edge of the camp shortly after nightfall with an orange rag tied around his head in order to hide his arrow tattoo. This would have been fine, if not for the fact that he was being followed by a muscle bound monstrosity that was at least twice as big as he was.

This thing, as I would later learn, was called a goat gorilla. Now, I'm not going to lie, I had completely forgotten about Crazy King Bumi's pet. Hearing details about it would have given me some worry. Actually seeing it nearly made me crap my pants in fear. It had similar colorings to Appa, only with huge goat horns, tusks protruding from it's lower jaw, and it sat on its hind legs and knuckles like a gorilla. If it wasn't for the fact that Sokka just strolled up to this thing and gave it a hug on it's face, I might have shot first and asked questions never.

"We looked everywhere, no Bumi," Aang reported glumly. Katara gave him a hug of reassurance. I placed a hand on his shoulder as well, ignoring the huge monster that was less than three feet away. If the other three weren't bothered by it's presence, I didn't see a reason to be either.

"Come on. I got some egg drop ramen cooked up. We'll see the refugees off, and go back to looking in the morning," I proposed. Aang's stomach growled, and he looked up at me with a hopeful, cocked eyebrow.

"Egg drop ramen?" he asked. I shrugged.

"It was the best I could do with what I had. Besides, I don't exactly have the means to bake that tart custard thing you like so much," I said. The young airbender just gave me a bright smile.

"That's alright, Morgan. Ramen is a close second," he said. Just as we started to head back into the camp, a man wearing an Earth Kingdom soldier's uniform came up to us. This was the man who had been in command of the local resistance before we arrived, and now he was more or less the leader of the refugees while Bumi was still MIA.

"We got a problem. We just did a head count," he said.

"Oh no, did someone get left behind?" Katara asked, concern in her voice.

"No. We have an extra," he answered, pointing a short distance away. Momo was being clung to by a child that couldn't have been more than a year and a half old. The kid had a bright smile on his face and was squealing with joy, the lemur looked like it would trade it's soul just to get out of the situation. I blinked and cocked my head at the sight, confused on how a toddler somehow got mixed up in this whole situation.

"Tell me you have babysitting experience," I said, looking at Katara. All I got was a bemused smirk in response. Thankfully, Katara did have experience in babysitting, because our group got saddled with the responsibility of watching the kid. No one else really even wanted anything to do with him, and honestly I wasn't that surprised. They'd just been forced to flee from their homes after being oppressed by whomever the kid's parents were, so the fact that he was a helpless toddler didn't really matter anymore to them.

Katara, being Katara, naturally took over watching him. She gave him some food when he was hungry, changed him when needing changed, and otherwise just played with him and kept him entertained. While she did that, I passed out the ramen I had made for supper. Behind us, Appa and Flopsie as I had learned was the big creature's name, lay side by side and snoozed away. The two were roughly the same size, and actually made a pretty decent barrier in separating our fire from the rest of the encampment.

The baby just toddled around, generally giggling and being in a good mood. He mostly chased Momo, always trying to get the lemur back into his grasp. Momo, however, had learned his lesson, and went to great lengths in order to stay out of the kid's reach. Eventually, he settled on one of Appa's horns, letting out a flurry of chatter at the toddler which I'm sure could have been translated into a series of curses and profanity. The baby didn't seem to notice or care, just simply plopping down into the dirt, picking up one of Sokka's clubs, and beginning to chew on it.

"No! Bad Fire Nation baby!" Sokka snapped, snatching the club out of the kid's reach. Instantly, the baby burst into tears and began to wail. This earned the Water Tribe warrior a smack up side the head and a stern look from his sister, which caused him to relent and give the club back. Upon seeing the weapon, the toddler immediately went back to making happy noises as he looked it over.

"Oh, you're just so cute!" she exclaimed, doting on the kid as he played. I couldn't help but give her a second look as she handled the entire situation, noting that she would make an excellent mother one day.

_'I see a great romance. The man you are going to marry. I can see he is a powerful bender, and he has traveled far. A simple man, a man of the wild.'_ That had been the prediction Grandma Wendy gave her all those months ago. Aang may have been a powerful bender, but he was not of the wild. Was it true? Was I going to be the one that Katara would marry instead? As I watched her play with the toddler across the fire, I couldn't help but wonder, would she one day being doing this exact same thing with my own child?

"Sure, he looks cute now. But when he's older, he'll join the Fire Nation Army. You won't think he's so cute then, he'll be a killer," the commander of the refugees said, speaking up for the first time in hours. Katara, however, remained undeterred and simply held the kid up.

"Does that look like the face of a killer to you?" she asked, just as a snot bubble popped on the kid's nose. The Leader's face remained stoic and unmoved. This was a guy who'd lost his home, his city, and probably most if not all of his family to the Fire Nation. It was going to take a little more than a bubbly toddler to change his mind.

"It won't last that long," I mumbled, poking the fire with a stick.

"What?" Aang asked.

"Sozin's Comet will be here by the end of the summer. One way or another, this war will be over by the end of the year," I answered. Before anyone could take in that rather dark prediction, the screech of a hawk filled the night. Down from the star filled sky came a hawk with a leather harness tied around it's midsection, held together by a small Fire Nation symbol. It landed on a large rock a short distance away and waited patiently. Aang, being the closest, got up and went over to the hawk.

Taking a small scroll from the cylinder on the bird's back, the Air Nomad made his way back to us while reading what was inside.

"It's from the Fire Nation Governor. He thinks we kidnapped his son," Aang relayed what he was reading.

"Why do we always get the important ones?" I asked, looking across the fire at the baby, who was once again knawing on Sokka's club.

"He wants to make a trade," Aang continued, ignoring me, "his son, for King Bumi."

* * *

The trade was set for high noon, atop some rather large scaffolding near the peak of the city. In fact, it was the same construction site I had spotted when we first arrived. The Fire Nation, not content with just having the city under their control, felt the need to rub it in by building a huge statue of Fire Lord Ozai.

It was just the four of us, plus the kid. Aang had the orange scarf on around his head again, while Sokka was holding the toddler. My bow was strung, but I had it hanging over my shoulder rather than at the ready in my hands. This was suppose to be a trade, not a fight. A drawn weapon would send the whole situation south fast.

Finally, they arrived. A trio of young women came from the end of the site opposite we had arrived from. They were led by a tall, pale teen who wore a dark, long sleeved red dress. She wore a scowl which suggested she'd rather be doing anything else than this. Flanking her was a young woman who had big, doe eyes, hair in a top knot and pony tail, and a pink outfit which showed off her midriff. But opposite her was the one that attracted my attention.

Like the first woman, she had a scowl on her face, although it seemed to be more of a determined one rather than an annoyed one. The armor she wore was a crimson color, as was the headpiece that adorned her top knot. At sight of her, I felt my blood turn to ice, and the grip on my bow string tightened.

Azula.

Cackling filled the air as a crane lowered a metal coffin behind the trio. Sticking out of the coffin was the face of an old man with spiky white hair and beard. I saw Aang smile out of the corner of my eye, which meant that this was the long sought after King Bumi. Glancing around, I silently cursed as I realized that I had no water. It was only gonna be my weapons this time, not my bending.

"You brought my brother?" the young woman in the lead called. In Sokka's arms, the kid in question pawed at the warrior's face, who, to his credit, remained stoic the entire time.

"He's here. We're ready to trade," Aang replied. We watched as Azula and the girl in the lead, Mai, I think her name was, began to talk amongst themselves. Even across the gap between us, I could see Mai thinking, looking from her companion to us. I felt my gut drop as I realized what was about to happen.

"Go for the one on the right," I hissed to Katara as I unslung my bow into a ready position. The waterbender looked at me with surprise.

"What?"

"The one in the armor, she's the only bender out of the three," I continued as Mai stepped a few paces forward.

"The deal's off!" she declared before lifting her hand skyward. With a bump, the box containing Bumi began to be hoisted skyward again. The old King began to laugh again, as if the movement alone was tickling him. Without wasting a beat, Aang charged forward, staff at the ready. Azula had been anticipating this, as she unleashed a massive blast of blue fire at the charging kid.

However, Aang leapt twenty feet into the air, easily clearing the flames before unfurling his glider. In the process, his scarf came undone, exposing his bald head and blue arrow tattoo for the whole world to see. The look on Azula's face morphed from one of shock and surprise, to narrow eyed determination. I drew and fired an arrow, targeting the Fire Princess.

It glanced off of her armor, which was enough to get her attention and send a few fire blasts our way. Katara jumped into action, bending out a blob of water to shield us from the flames. Unfortunately, Azula used that distraction to break contact with us and use a pulley system to go after Aang. That left the other two to come after us.

"We've got to get the baby out of here!" Katara said as she fell into a bending stance. Behind her, Sokka was blowing on Aang's bison whistle as he ran back in the direction we had arrived from.

"Way ahead of you," he replied. We followed suit, just in time to watch as a fist slammed into Sokka's heal from underneath. He hit the planks hard, skidding to a stop just shy of going over the edge. The woman in pink cartwheeled out of a hatch in the scaffolding ahead of us and went after Sokka. I drew an arrow and fired. She dropped hard as a blunted arrow hit her in the back of the head.

"Damn training arrows," I muttered, realizing I had forgotten to take all of the practice arrows out of my quiver before this. Katara bent out a water tentacle, gripping the girl by the ankle and dragging her away from her brother. Sokka was up in a flash, clutching the toddler to his chest as he scrambled down a ladder and out of sight.

Katara and I stood back to back, bow and water respectively at the ready as we faced our opponents down. Mai charged at us, throwing knives in our direction. Katara made a wall of ice, catching the projectiles before thawing it again. As the water came down, I fired an arrow, this time with an actual broad head on it. But Mai was no slouch. She narrowly dodged the arrow and kept coming.

At that moment, the other girl cartwheeled her way in between the two of us, stuck Katara with several quick strikes, and then was well out of reach again before either of us could react. The effect was instantaneous, as any water she had been controlling fell to the plank floor and refused to obey her commands.

"How are you gonna fight without your bending?" Mai gloated as she produced a rather wicked looking throwing knife. I stepped in front of Katara, slashing my bow hand upward. A beam of water rocketed upward, slamming into the woman in pink's gut and forcing her backward into some more construction material. The look of surprise on Mai's face was all the time I needed.

"I'm still here," I replied as I loosed my arrow. It stuck the young woman in the upper arm, but it wasn't the arm holding the knife. She screamed in pain, and then launched the weapon at me. I didn't have a chance to react as the blade covered the distance between us in less than the blink of an eye, embedding itself in my abdomen.

Fiery pain engulfed my stomach as my free hand went to the knife handle. The air left my lungs as I fell backwards, just as Appa landed between us and them, slamming his tail down and blasting the two young women away with a gust of wind.

"MORGAN!" Katara screamed as she ran to my side.

"That wasn't how I saw that going," I gasped as I gripped the knife and tried to pull it out. Katara's hand stopped me.

"Don't. You'll bleed out if you do that. Sokka, help me with him!" she snapped. They both grabbed me and loaded me on to Appa.

"We need to catch up to Aang," Sokka said as he sat me down in the saddle as gently as he could.

"You fly, I'm gonna try and stop the bleeding," Katara replied. I lay in the saddle, blood spilling out between my fingertips as I struggled to remain still. The amount of pain was unbearable, and I was twisting in place out of basic response.

"Bend…water…heal," I struggled to get out. She put a hand on my forehead.

"I don't know how long it will be until what that girl did to me wears off. I know it hurts, but hang in there, I'll heal you as soon as I can," she said. I don't know much about what happened next. Between the pain and the blood loss, I was pretty much out of it. We managed to pick up Aang, but Bumi elected to stay behind for some reason.

The last thing I remember as we made our getaway from the city was Katara talking quietly with the other two.

"Are you sure?" Aang asked.

"Yes. It's the only option we have left now," Katara replied. After that, I felt an extreme cooling sensation over the knife wound.

And then, only darkness.

**And cut. Cliffhangers, am I right? You guys know the drill, drop a review, leave a PM, let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.**


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